Smith 9H 07-08

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

What changes have you seen this semester in regards to your education? What role did technology play in that change? What role did the constructivist philosophy play in that change? (constructivist-students becoming producers of information, students in charge of their own learning. What suggestions for improvement do you have for me next year? What are some of the things you would suggest I do again?

Make sure to include specific examples and expand on each other's ideas. Your feedback- honest and reflective- is important!

What changes have you seen this semester in regards to your education? What role did technology play in that change? What role did the constructivist philosophy play in that change? (constructivist-students becoming producers of information, students in charge of their own learning. What suggestions for improvement do you have for me next year? What are some of the things you would suggest I do again?

Make sure to include specific examples and expand on each other's ideas. Your feedback- honest and reflective- is important!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Hey Everyone!!! :) Today in class we were all excited to have Mrs. Smith back in class and to have our laptops too! The first thing we did was take our last grammar quiz of the year on colons, semicolons, itilicizing, and quotation marks. Then we had different people play the roles of the characters in Romeo and Juliet and they read the beginning of the first Act. In the part that we read some Capulets were just walking when they got into a fight with some Montegues. Then tons more people joined in on fight. Finally the prince of Verona had to come and break up the fight. Next we watched two Romeo and Juliet movies. Just like we did with Macbeth. The first movie was like the old fashioned one that Mrs. Smith said she watched when she was reading Romeo and Juliet. The second one was, as Mrs. Smith says, the "ghetto" one. This one was more modern with guns instead of swords. That's basicaly all we did today. The homework is... I don't think there is any.Anyway have a good night and see you tomorrow :)

Monday, April 28, 2008

Today as we all walked into class we were reminded of Mrs. Smith's absence by the calling out of "Put your laptops away! Put them away!" from our lovely substitute teacher. We tried to tell her that we were specifically told to use them today, but she denied our requests by saying, "I have found a way to make her lesson plans work without laptops." And that she did. She had us turn in our grammar review sheets, and a small gold half sheet of paper was handed out to each student that read:

"Attitudes:Consider the following offenses and rank each in the order of seriousness, with 1 being the most serious.

Planning to trick someoneLying to parentsKilling someone for revengeAdvising someone to marry for moneyTwo families having a feudSelling poisonKilling someone by mistake while fightingCursingKilling someone in self defenseSuicideCrashing a partyMarrying against parents' wishesGiving the fingerPicking a fight

So we all numbered our lists, and the substitute then wrote on the boars which ones we thought were the worst, and which the least bad. I am not quite sure what the point of this exercise was, other than just to let us know what happens in the play.

We then moved onto reading a single, class copy, of the Prologue of Romeo and Juliette on the overhead out loud three times, just so everyone got a chance to read it out loud...

We decided that the prologue stressed 3 Juxtapositions,

Life versus Death

Fatal versus Love

Hatred versus Love

And this was supposed to help us with tonights assignment, our Summary Response to the Prologue. We are to, according to the notes written on the board, have these elements,

1 page

Summary

Clear Thesis

Examples

Clear Conclusion

Response

Begin with "I think.../I agree..."

Focus on one or two aspects

Clear Conclusion

We then began reading the first scene of Romeo and Juliette as a class, acting and all, and once the bell rang we all packed up (not our laptops...) and left for our 3rd period classes.

Homework: One Page Summary Response to Prologue Be glad that Ms. Smith isn't gone everyday... today was just too boring!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Ms. Smith pulled up the power point then turned around and shouted “Helloooo everybody.” “Helooo Ms. Smith,” replied the class. Ms. Smith is gone on Monday and every one was rather disappointed as we will have a sub. She has saved us though by making it impossible not to use computers. We have to find an online text which will be used for Romeo and Juliet. A summary response paper on the prologue of Romeo and Juliet is due Monday. The second paragraph is a response to the first section of the reading. The class then broke into the hustle and bustle that is common when a class moves into groups. Groups were scattered across the room some in the corner. They were mostly away from the front of the room. I am, of coarse, working on the scribe for today. Everyone is discussing how they will be presenting their ideas to the class for the semester project. Some people were speaking a little louder then everyone else. Most groups are either working or trying to work. Rachel waved to me from across the room and asked if I was ready for the Arapahoe Singers audition. I responded that I was quite excited but rather nervous. The best thing is to keep your cool and not freak out. Ms. Claire came and visited the class with Mr. Fisch to take notes on our learning. Ms. Smith talked with them in what appeared to be a conference. Hannah works quietly on her laptop. Parker is also working on his laptop. I was then informed that Zach was staring at the vitamin robot on the board. It has a voice bubble which reads, “Takin’ lots of vitamins.” Morgan and Kristina are talking in British accents and Morgan starts every sentence with, “Hark hither”. I was reminded not to forget that. I checked the room and everyone is still working. In fact the class is very hard at work, well they’re a little distracted but that’s ok. Ryan, Jordan, and Katy are discussing quite a lot while Rhya simply watches from across the table. Everyone seems somewhat tired. Morgan T. just sighed very loudly right behind me. There is a lot of little talk all over the room. Morgan was discussing the style of your life through music. As this is an open blog anyone can add anything they want to it. I think? It seems the sound level in the room rises and crashes like waves in the ocean. It appears that a lot of the class is getting bored but I am sure they have done a lot of work. Everyone has lost it. It’s Friday and nobody really wants to work which is rather obvious. Class is almost over and well now it is done.The homework is to work on the semester project, do the chapter review and be ready for class on Monday.Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Happy 4 month aniversary of Christmas! I know this is just such a big event for everyone that you can barely contain it even though you probably hadn't realized that until reading... Well, today in class, Ms. Smith gave her usual cheery "Hello" and the class answered with their usual enthusiastic "hi", barely audible over the typing on the laptops. Well, down to buisness. Today we continued to work on our semester projects. Nothing really exciting happened today besides that. Just a reminder, we only have 3 more in-class workdays on teh project and those are right before finals so get as prepared as possible so you only need to add in Romeo and Juliet. For homework tonight, you need to complete the grammar chapter 14 review and that's due Monday. Also due Monday is everyone needs to have an electronic or a book copy of Romeo and Juliet which we will start reading in class. Other than that, just work on or plan to work on your semester project. Merry quadmonthiversary of Christmas to all, and to all a good weekend!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Today, class started out as usual with Ms. Smith greeting everyone with "Hello Everybody!" The class sort of groaned back "Hello Ms. Smith." Ms. Smith said that it was just as pathetic as period two normally is in the morning. A few people said we should try it again, but we had a lot to do, so we moved on.

Basically, today was a work day for us to work on our semester long project and get that updated with information from 1984. Tomorrow is going to be the last work day until the end of the semester (we'll have 3 days after Romeo & Juliet.)

Before we broke out into groups, Ms. Smith gave us our homework (see below) and asked us to answer a post she has on her personal blog about how we taught each other about 1984. If you didn't get this done in class, it is homework. What she wants to know is:"I want to know what they got out of this learning experience versus me teaching them.I want to know about their assessments (quizzes) and see why they chose to go the route of regurgitation.I want to know about the collaboration in the groups to put together their teaching day. Was it difficult to get together? Did you have enough planning time? How did you do your planning?I want to know what suggestions they would have for doing this again."One of her friends who is also a teacher really wants to know about the collaboration. They don't think kids get together much anymore now that we have text messaging and e-mail. As always, Ms. Smith is sure we will have something brilliant to say.

Before we started working, she passed back our t-shirts or the design pattern for us to make them at home. Everyone was talking about how cool it was and how it worked. So, Ms. Smith “whistled” to get everyone quiet. Then she explained how to do it. (Step 1: Take the image in Publisher or PowerPoint and press Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C. Step 2: Open Paint and press Ctrl-V. Step 3: Rotate the image. You then buy a Light T-shirt Transfer Paper at Target or Office Depot. Step 4: Print out the design on an inkjet printer. Step 5: Iron the t-shirt for a few minutes, before slowly ironing on the design. You let it cool for a minute and it is ready to wear. Ms. Smith reccomends you try this the next time you baby sit.)

Then we broke up into groups and worked on our projects. A few groups got a lot done and are really making some head way while others are still struggling. The group that presented on Tuesday- Tyler, Mitch, Mitch, and Matt- handed back their quizzes. Most people did pretty well and got A's or B's.

Before class ended, Ms. Smith called us back together to remind us that tomorrow is our last in class day to work on the project until after Romeo and Juliet (we will have three days after that and then the project it due.)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Today, we had a late start day due to the ACT testing. Classes were only twenty-three minutes each and school started at 11:30 am.

English class began with a greeting, "Hello Ms. Smith". We then jumped right into the homework. The Homework is:Hw: grammar 15/16Editing worksheet due FridayChapter review due MondayEssay due tomorrow, no excuses

For the essay, we were given three options. They are as follows:Option One: formal essay. Orwell wrote 1984 to warn us about the future. What was he warning us about? How has it come true in our society today? (two examples for each)

Option two: Write a new chapter in 1984. Stay true to the tone and form of the original book. Make this creative and emulate like Orwell, Pay attention to detail, keep accurate to the existing characters

Option three: In your life, who can you state ‘controls’ you? Do they control with fear? Opportunity? We would all like to say that we control ourselves, our actions, but is this true? (Use specific examples from your personal life) connect this to 1984. This is in personal essay format.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Ms. Smith's 5th Hour class opened with the normal chorus of "Hello Ms. Smith". My group was teaching today, so we got started shortly after that. Mitch L. split the class up into four small discussion groups. Each group discussed some of these questions:

Would you have betrayed Julia while being tortured and starved like Winston was? Why or why not?

Would you be able to reject the Party’s ideas even after realizing that you can do nothing to stop them? Or would you give in like Winston?

"All happenings are in the mind. Whatever happens in all minds truly happens.” Do you believe this is true? Why or why not?

Do you think it is possible for a society to become something like 1984? Would the people let it happen?

What is the importance of Crimestop?

Do you think it is possible to the overthrow the Party? How?

How could you keep a secret while also hiding it from yourself?

What would be in your Room 101? Would you give in to it?

Why was Winston no longer interested in Julia after being in the Ministry of Love?

Is it human nature to only care about yourself like Winston and Julia admitted to doing?

What do you think will happen to Winston now?

My group had a great discussion on how they would have reacted being in Winston's situation and whether or not reality is only in the mind. At about 12:45, we set up the large fishbowl discussion group. We talked for about five minutes about whether or not Winston is alive, and if he is, what will happen to him. At the end of the discussion, we passed out the quizzes. A few people complained that the extra credit question was too hard and the numbering was a little bit off, but otherwise the quiz went smoothly. It looks like most of the class did well, so far. And now for everyone's favorite part of the day....

the quiz (which was pretty straight forward as long as you read the pages.)

A group project( after they told us about it Ms. Smith said what a good idea)

and a class dicussion

Group Project:Groups of 6Find or create an image, series of images, poem, video, song, ect. That you feel summarizes the transformation of Winston throughout the progression of this bookOn a word document, explain what you chose and how it represents Winston.

Here's what all the groups did and said:

Aarons group: Their group had images of the same guy doing different stuff, and they said that this shows how Winston is confused and angry, shows a happy face for Julia, shows how he is beaten senseless, shows trying to change mind, show end how he conformed

Maddie’s group: Showed a timeline. Wrote a poem for each event they had on the timeline. One for childhood. One for when the book begins. One for the diary and his deception. One for Julia (how she makes a brighter future). Another for the thought police (no hope) one for the end when he gives up.

Amanda’s group: so my group did a collage, we had a picture of Big Brother and that in the beginning he hated big brother. We also had a picture of a rat eating someone's finger because Winston was afraid of rats, we had words written on their like betrayal, sex crime, love for big brother, and rebellion. We also had a quote from a song Winston hears in the end of the book, "Inder the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me." Then we had a pisture of a man and a woman with a rainbow, the sun , the sun with clouds, and rain. We also had a picture of a catipillar and a butterflly to show his progression. We also had a quote from Fredrick Douglass, "the thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion."

Marks group: They had a collage. They had a picture of a robot because Winston was conformed. Arrow going to rebel without a cause james dean. Brad pitt and with AJ with guns and this showed the relationship between Julia and Winston. they talked about how he was tortured. they also had an arrow going to Big Brother with a heart around it how he accepted everything.

Molly’s group: Their group showed eyes, comrade for the society. The one blue eye shows how Winston was just beginning to see the real society for what it was. The other eye was varying shades of blue to gray. This showed that they couldn't ever escape big brother. Everything will be gray.

So here's the homework for tonight!

Answer the blog question

do grammar exercise 13

Here's the plan for tomorrow!SAT testing tomorrow! Late start (so sleep in, eat a good breakfast, and be glad you aren't a junior!)

As always, the class begins with a lovely, "Hello!" from Ms. Smith. The class, though, responded not as enthusiastically. So, we began a short discussion on how tired everyone was and how short the weekend was. Then, we wrote down the homework: Read 1984 (274-297),

Grammar: exercise 10,

Finish 1984 political t-shirts.

After that, Smith sent us off to work on our political t-shirts in our groups, and when she clapped her hands for us to get going, she hurt herself because of a scar she had on her left wrist. After the groups assembled, we began work. Fortunately, I came to be included in a group with Jose, Mark, and Nile. Jose had basically finished the t-shirt already. So, that went into the drop box. Afterward, Mark called to Molly for whatever reason, and the rest of us had to find something to do. Jose and I spoke of starting a business by buying products in bulk for a cheaper price and selling them again. Nile fiddled with a lemonade stand game online. Mark decided to play multiple games on some website. The rest of the groups either continued working or also played games. I assume the later, but I did see some people actually doing something productive.

As class progressed, a couple people went to Ms. Smith for scheduling, but the class, overall, maintained the same status: playing games or working on something.

Monday, April 21, 2008

As usual, before class began there was quite the hullaballoo while students got laptops from the carts and hastily tried to find friends who had remembered to bring a t-shirt to decorate. Luckily those who forgot were able to relax as Ms. Smith was so kind as to have t-shirts for us. She greeted us as usual then proceeded to explain the activity we would be doing today. Working in groups of four were were supposed to design a t-shirt either for or against big brother. There were many creative ideas flowing today and I'm sure that every group's t-shirt will be unique and clever. When some of the groups finished their designs and had dropped them in the drop box they had a little fun while they waited for class to end. :) Don't forget our homework tonight! Read through page 297 of 1984 (i.e. finish the book)The last group presents tomorrow and I'm sure they will be as creative as all the others!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Welcome Comerades. Sit down in your assigned seats and be silent! Watch the screen that is at your desk.That was how the day began. In the dark room illuminated by the laptop screens displaying a slide show filled with propaganda picture after propaganda picture. The group that presented put the room into four groups, each representing ministries. Behind the Ministry of Love, was the feared Room 101. Of course, a few rebelled instantly, and were sent away! And might I say, they misbehaved so much that we almost had to restrain them! Then, the presenters handed out a "Loyalty Assesment". It seemed that the tests only point was to rat out other members in your group. After all the Ministries had finished correcting a speech that Big Brother had given, then had discussions in small groups, then in one large group, and then were given the quiz on pages 225-274.The homework was to bring a T-Shirt (I wish i had one of those lying around!) Have a good weekend all.

Hey Everyone! The weekend has been incredibly beautiful so get off your computer and go outside! Mrs. Smith second hour class opened the usual chorus of hello. Then she talked about an exciting new project we will be working on. We are going to become fashion designers! Everyone got into groups of 2 or 4. We will be making political t-shirts by designing the the cover on the computer and then Mrs. Smith will be able to transfer the picture to the shirts. So one person from each remember to bring one white shirt! After the initial excitement we got down to business. Mark, Nile, Molly, and Kristen were the leaders of the day so if anyone missed the quiz; talk to them. The quiz went over the pages 225-274. It was mildly hard and 10 questions long. After the quiz, the class split into groups and created brains to represent a character from 1984. Afterwards the group explain the symbolism of each section of the brain. Here is a few examples of what was said in class. Liz Carlson created an incredible poem to represent the brain of the starving man. If you see her then I highly suggest you ask her if you can read it. It was very powerful. Another good example was from Jose's group. They showed the face of O'Brien. One side was black and the other was white. The black side represented Big Brother and the white side represent the Brotherhood. It was a very good project and brought out a lot of good discussion. That's all!! Here was the homework. Have an amazing weekend!Blog question from leading group, Read 274-297, scribeBring white t-shirt to class on Monday Grammar Day 14:8